Cebu Football

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 31 edition) THIS weekend is truly for the sports fan. Aside from the Ironman 70.3 event, which will attract world-class athletes and showbiz personalities--if that’s your thing--two other major events are kicking off this weekend. There’s the basketball season of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc., which will open on Aug. 2, the same day the Ironkids event will kick off, and then there’s the Visayas leg of the Milo Little Olympics, which opens on Aug. 1.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 28 edition) EVER since Sunnex (Sun.Star Network Exchange) decided to air the Cesafi basketball matches over livestream, college basketball in Cebu has never been the same again. Fans who watch the game no longer need to go to the misnomer that is the New Cebu Coliseum—though sportswriters have dropped the name new over a decade ago—as they can watch the matches in the comfort of their homes.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 25 edition ) THE Cebu City Council got caught up in the numbers game anew lately with the controversy on the proposed P5,000 doleout for single parents. Whether who is right or wrong, I’m going to leave that to our more experienced opinion columnists like Frank Malilong (who is a former sports editor, by the way) and Bong Wenceslao. But this latest round of numbers game led me to think that if Cebu City wants to spend its money why not spend it for Palarong Pambansa medalists?

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 21 edition) DURING their undefeated reign as nine-time Cesafi champions, there were some members of other varsity teams in UV that resented the privileges of the basketball kings, saying those players rarely attend classes. “ Way skwela-skwela, pasar gyapun. Basta makadula ra’g basketball, payts na ,” a member of UV’s football team, who won a Cesafi crown, told me.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 19 edition) ONE of the most memorable images in the 2013 edition of the Ironman 70.3 wasn’t that of an athlete but a group of passengers carrying their luggage up the Marcelo Fernan bridge, caught unaware of the closure of the vital link to Lapu-Lapu City. Organizers say they have had several information blasts regarding road and bridge closures for the Ironman but even if they’d do it daily, there would still be people who’d be caught by surprised.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 14 edition ) THERE are two unrelated developments in Cebu that, if put together, could mean Cebu City taking the lead again in Philippine sports. The Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) is busy with its grassroots program and is now re-booting its archery program. How succesful are they? For starters, from a pool of less than a handful, there are now at least 9,000 students who have learned archery.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 7 issue) LET me gloat a bit. In a previous column, I picked Brazil over Colombia, Germany over France, Argentina over Belgium and the Netherlands over Costa Rica and so far, I’m 100 percent correct. I even guessed it right that James Rodriguez would score and that Colombia would still lose to the host. If you say that those were just lucky guesses, you are right. Besides, those were easy picks made by my spirit-fueled crystal ball. I was hoping, though, that I’d be wrong in the Costa Rica vs. Netherlands match and that the Cinderella run of the South American country would continue. Who wouldn’t want to cheer for the underdog in football’s greatest stage?

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 5 issue) A FEW weeks ago, I learned of an unfortunate experience of a child who wanted to learn gymnastics. Her mom took her to one of the clincis and really liked the sport. The problem was the coach was unprofessional and was always late, and the other parents and students made them feel so unwelcome that they didn’t return. “ Mura’g ganahan sila nga sila ra’y kamao ,” I was told.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's July 3 edition ) THE World Cup started with 32 teams in eight groups a few weeks ago, and in a curious twist, all eight group winners advanced to the quarterfinal round. It is another first in an event that is proving to be unlike no other. I wanted the USA to advance further in the event, because it’s always great to cheer for the underdog. However, despite a valiant display from Tim Howard, the Americans lost to Belgium, 2-1, in extra time. What an exciting match it was. No score in regulation and then just 17 minutes into extra time, you have three and the US could have gotten another in that lovely set piece of theirs that seemed to have been borrowed from basketball.

(This is my Fair Play column for Sun.Star Cebu's June 30 edition) A FEW years ago, I got an unexpected call from Ed Hayco, who was then about to be tapped as chairman of the Cebu City Sports Commission. He asked for advice about the post and I told him simply: Don’t take it. I was afraid that the amiable godfather of dancesport would be stuck in the quagmire that goes along with being a political appointee in a sports landscape.